AK: Anchorage makes plans for a Muldoon Transit Center

The Municipality of Anchorage plans to build a new transit center to improve both passenger safety and the ease of ride transfers near the busy Muldoon and DeBarr intersection.

The Muldoon neighborhood in East Anchorage has a high concentration of bus stops scattered throughout its center, adjacent to restaurants, grocery stores, a middle school, city parks and a library. Primary routes, which run every 15 minutes for most of the week, connect passengers to downtown and Midtown, the University-Medical District and South Anchorage.

People Mover riders may have to switch bus lines at three separate on-street stops, rather than at a centralized transit center like the one found off Dimond Boulevard or downtown. Depending on the bus stop, some passengers needing to transfer must first walk to the intersection and then navigate using the pedestrian signals.

To save time, some choose to cut across the highway mid-block or run across when they see gaps in the traffic, said Public Transportation Department Director Bart Rudolph.

"Pedestrians will try to take the path of least resistance," he said.

City data shows that the intersection of Muldoon and DeBarr roads has the highest number of pedestrian and bicycle crashes within East Anchorage. Between 2014 and 2023, more than 20 vehicles collided with pedestrians or bicyclists in the area.

The Muldoon bus stops act as a "major hub" for the People Mover system and have high ridership, Rudolph said. Roughly 600 people move through the area every day, equivalent to the Dimond Transit Center. Several routes start or end in the area, and the department anticipates growing that over the next decade, he said.

Although the transportation department has not yet selected a site, the new transit center would be set back, away from the street, and will allow riders to make bus transfers without crossing major roads. The city's draft plans also include a new, larger space for the Muldoon Neighborhood Library. According to the transit center study, the intent is to create a community-centered space that integrates public transit and library services.

The project team has paused community outreach this winter as it begins to narrow down possible locations for a transit center. According to Rudolph, there is no obvious city-owned land the municipality could build on, and it would likely have to purchase property. The public will get a chance to weigh in on the selection in the spring, he said.

In recent public surveys for the transit hub project, Anchorage bus riders asked the city to move busy transit stops off busy roads such as Muldoon, create a singular location for transfers and provide established restrooms and weather-sheltered space to wait for buses.

Rudolph said he hopes the design of the new Muldoon location is similar to the Dimond Transit Center but larger, with an indoor waiting area and amenities for bus operators. Bus drivers currently have to use a porta-potty or restrooms at the nearby Starbucks.

The Public Transportation Department has partnered with the Muldoon Library branch as it begins to search for a new home. The Anchorage Public Library has been renting a suite at the Muldoon Town Center for almost 20 years and shares the space with a number of other organizations.

The library does not have any natural light, a drive-up window or interior restrooms. Similar to the concerns shared by Muldoon bus riders, library patrons have said the location is not easily accessible or pedestrian-friendly, said Library Director Marjorie Harrison. Patrons have also expressed their desire for a larger book collection and community meeting spaces, she said.

"It's very limited in a facility that you don't own, so we're kind of strapped," she said. "This would give us an opportunity to grow in those areas."

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